A vibrant and active Civil Society Coalition on internet freedom has been inaugurated in Liberia. The Coalition will among other things work to promote freedom of expression online and the expansion of internet accessibility across Liberia.
The formation of the Coalition forms part of initiatives by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and its partner in Liberia, the Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding, (CEMESP) with funding support from UK-based Global Partners Digital, to improve the internet environment in Liberia.
The Coalition was set up following the launch and validation of a Mapping Report on the Liberian Internet Environment by key national stakeholders–including government, the business community and CSOs–at a ceremony in Monrovia today April 14, 2015.
A workshop was subsequently organized for Coalition members on strategic engagements aimed at influencing policies that are favorable for online freedoms in Liberia.
The MFWA and its partner, CEMESP, are pursuing the internet freedom project as part of initiatives for expanding internet freedom and making the internet accessible and affordable to the majority of Liberians. The project also seeks to highlight and garner support for the adoption of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, a Pan-African Initiative to promote internet freedom in Africa.
